User Management Device, BNG, and BNG User Internet Access Method and System

ABSTRACT

The application discloses an Internet access method. The method includes receiving a first Internet access packet reported by a first BNG, the first Internet access packet carrying user information and information of the first BNG, and receiving the user&#39;s second Internet access packet reported by a second BNG, wherein the second Internet access packet carries user information and information of the second BNG. The method also includes recording, according to the user information, information of the first BNG and information of the second BNG in a BNG list to which the user belongs, and selecting, according to a preset policy, the first BNG from the BNG list. The method also includes delivering the user&#39;s forwarding information to the first BNG; and sending a response packet to the user, where the response packet is used to instruct the user to access the Internet by using the first BNG.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/227,755, filed on Dec. 20, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/009,954, filed on Jan. 29, 2016, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,187,849, which is a continuation of InternationalApplication No. PCT/CN2013/080468, filed on Jul. 31, 2013. All of theaforementioned applications are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The application relates to the field of computer and communicationstechnologies, and in particular, to a user management device, BNG, andBNG user Internet access method and system.

BACKGROUND

A broadband network gateway device (BNG) mainly implements twofunctions, including a network bearer function, which connects a userdevice to a BNG device to enable a user to access the Internet, and acontrol implementation function, which works with an authenticationsystem, a charging system, a customer management system, and a servicepolicy control system to implement authentication, charging, andmanagement functions of user access.

A broadband access server is an access gateway oriented to a broadbandnetwork application. It is a bridge connecting a broadband accessnetwork to a backbone network and providing basic access means and abroadband access network management function. It is located on an edgeof a network, provides a broadband access service, implementsconvergence and forwarding for multiple types of service, and can meetdifferent users' requirements for a transmission capacity and bandwidthusage, and therefore is a core device for broadband user access.

FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of BNG user Internet access in theprior art. When a user accesses the Internet by using a BNG, a PPPOE oran IPOE Internet access packet is sent to the BNG shown in FIG. 2. TheBNG includes a user management module 210 and forwarding module 220. Theforwarding module 220 includes a user table and a forwarding table, andis located on a forwarding plane of the BNG. The user management module210 is located on a control plane of the BNG and configured to controlthe forwarding module 220. After receiving an Internet access packet,the BNG directly processes the packet. After the BNG performsauthentication and authorization using an AAA server and determines thatthe user is an authorized user, a user management module of the BNGallocates a corresponding resource to the user, including an IP addressand the like, and delivers a corresponding table (including a user tableand forwarding table) to a data forwarding plane (forwarding chips suchas an NP) of the BNG. After acquiring the IP address, the user cannormally implement an Internet access behavior using the IP address.

When a user accesses the Internet by using the BNG, the user managementmodule and a user table forwarding module are located on a same BNG.Therefore, a user can access the Internet by using only one BNG. Afterthe BNG breaks down, the user cannot be automatically connected to theInternet by using another BNG. The number of users who access theInternet on each BNG is limited, and therefore capacity expansion isdifficult. Though a two-node cluster hot backup technology can resolve auser Internet access disconnection problem, capacity expansion isdifficult and a networking technology is complicated. Therefore, thefollowing problems are found in the prior art.

1. A user capacity cannot be expanded flexibly. That is, a user capacitycannot be expanded according to a requirement without changing anetworking architecture.

2. If an Internet access device breaks down, by using the active/activetwo-node cluster technology, a user can only be migrated to a specifieddevice, but the user cannot be automatically migrated to other Internetaccess devices.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the application provide a user management device, BNG,BNG user Internet access method and system so as to resolve a problem inthe prior art that a user capacity cannot be expanded flexibly. That is,a user capacity cannot be expanded according to a requirement withoutchanging a networking architecture.

To resolve the foregoing technical problem, the embodiments of theapplication disclose the following technical solutions.

According to a first aspect, a user Internet access method is providedand includes: receiving, by a user management device, a user's firstInternet access packet reported by a first broadband network gatewaydevice BNG, where the first Internet access packet carries userinformation of the user and information of the first BNG. The methodalso includes receiving, by the user management device, the user'ssecond Internet access packet reported by a second broadband networkgateway device BNG, where the second Internet access packet carries userinformation of the user and information of the second BNG, andrecording, by the user management device according to the userinformation, information of the first BNG and information of the secondBNG in a BNG list to which the user belongs. The method also includesselecting, by the user management device according to a preset policy,the first BNG from the BNG list, delivering, by the user managementdevice, the user's forwarding information to the first BNG; and sending,by the user management device, a response packet to the user, where theresponse packet is used to instruct the user to access the Internet byusing the first BNG.

In a first possible implementation manner of the first aspect, thepreset policy includes selecting a BNG with least load or selecting aBNG with a shortest delay.

In a second possible implementation manner of the first aspect, beforethe recording, by the user management device according to the userinformation, the information of the first BNG and the information of thesecond BNG in the BNG list to which the user belongs, the method furtherincludes: validating, by the user management device, that the user is anauthorized user.

In a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect, themethod further includes: after the user management device learns that alink of the first BNG breaks down, delivering forwarding information ofthe user on the link to the second BNG whose link does not break down.

In a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect, themethod further includes: after the user management device learns thatthe first BNG breaks down, delivering forwarding information of the useron the first BNG to the second BNG whose link does not break down.

According to a second aspect, a user Internet access method is providedand includes: receiving, by a broadband network gateway device BNG, anInternet access packet uploaded by a user and reporting the Internetaccess packet to a user management device, where the Internet accesspacket carries user information of the user and information of the BNG;and receiving and saving, by the BNG, the user's forwarding informationdelivered by the user management device.

According to a third aspect, a user management device is provided andincludes: an Internet access packet receiving module, configured toreceive, a user's first Internet access packet reported by a firstbroadband network gateway device BNG, where the first Internet accesspacket carries user information of the user and information of the firstBNG, and to further receive, the user's second Internet access packetreported by a second broadband network gateway device BNG, where thesecond Internet access packet carries user information of the user andinformation of the second BNG. The device also includes an Internetaccess information recording module, configured to record, according tothe user information, information of the first BNG and information ofthe second BNG in a BNG list to which the user belongs, and a BNGselection module, configured to select, according to a preset policy,the first BNG. The device also includes an Internet access informationdelivery module, configured to deliver the user's forwarding informationto the first BNG; and an Internet access notification module, configuredto send a response packet to the user, where the response packet is usedto instruct the user to access the Internet by using the first BNG.

In a first possible implementation manner of the third aspect, thepreset policy includes selecting a BNG with least load or selecting aBNG with a shortest delay.

In a second possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the usermanagement device further includes: a user validation module, configuredto validate that the user is an authorized user before recording,according to the user information, the information of the first BNG andthe information of the second BNG in the BNG list to which the userbelongs.

In a third possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the usermanagement device further includes: a reconnection-upon-offline module,configured to deliver forwarding information of the user on a link ofthe first BNG to the second BNG whose link does not break down after thelink of the first BNG breaks down.

In a fourth possible implementation manner of the third aspect, the usermanagement device further includes: a reconnection-upon-offline module,configured to deliver the forwarding information of the user on thefirst BNG to the second BNG whose link does not break down after thefirst BNG breaks down.

According to a fourth aspect, a broadband network gateway device BNG isprovided and includes: an Internet access packet reporting module,configured to receive an Internet access packet uploaded by a user andreport the Internet access packet to a user management device, where theInternet access packet carries user information of the user andinformation of the BNG; and an Internet access information updatingmodule, configured to receive and save the user's forwarding informationdelivered by the user management device.

According to a fifth aspect, a user Internet access system is providedand includes a user management device and a broadband network gatewaydevice BNG, where: the BNG receives an Internet access packet reportedby a user and reports the Internet access packet to the user managementdevice, where the Internet access packet carries user information of theuser and information of the BNG; the user management device records,according to the user information, information of the BNG in a BNG listto which the user belongs, selects, according to a preset policy, a BNGfrom the list of BNGs that report the user's Internet access packets,delivers the user's forwarding information to the selected BNG, andsends a response packet to the user, where the response packet is usedto instruct the user to access the Internet by using the selected BNG;and the selected BNG receives and saves the user's forwardinginformation delivered by the user management device.

In the embodiment of the application, an independent user managementdevice manages BNG user Internet access so as to conveniently increasethe number of BNGs connected to the user management device and ensurethat a user capacity can be flexibly expanded without affectingexperience of online users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of theapplication more clearly, the following briefly introduces theaccompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments.Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following description showsome embodiments of the application, and a person of ordinary skill inthe art may further derive other drawings from these accompanyingdrawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a BNG user Internet accessmethod in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a BNG in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic architecture diagram of a BNG user Internet accessmethod according to the application;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a BNG user Internet access method according toan embodiment of the application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of another BNG user Internet access methodaccording to an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a user management deviceaccording to an embodiment of the application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a BNG according to anembodiment of the application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of hardware of a usermanagement device according to the application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of theembodiments of the application clearer, the following describes thetechnical solutions in the embodiments of the application with referenceto the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the application.Apparently, the described embodiments are a part rather than all of theembodiments of the application. All other embodiments obtained by aperson of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of theapplication without creative efforts shall fall within the protectionscope of the application.

The specific implementation manners of the application are furtherdescribed in detail with reference to accompanying drawings andembodiments as follows, where the following embodiments are used todescribe but not limit the application:

In a first embodiment of the application, a user Internet access methodis provided. In the method, a user management device independent of aBNG is used to manage BNG user Internet access. In the method in theembodiment, a networking architecture shown in FIG. 2 can be used,according to which a user 310 connects to a BNG 330 through an L2switching network 320, the BNG 330 connects to a user management device350 to enable the user 310 to access the Internet 360, and the usermanagement device 350 further connects to an AAA server 340 toauthenticate the user.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the foregoing method, where the method includesthe following steps.

S411: The user management device receives a user's first Internet accesspacket reported by a first broadband network gateway device BNG, wherethe first Internet access packet carries user information of the userand information of the first BNG. For example, the information of thefirst BNG usually includes a MAC address, an ID, and other informationof the BNG.

S412: The user management device receives the user's second Internetaccess packet reported by a second broadband network gateway device BNG,where the second Internet access packet carries the user information ofthe user and information of the second BNG. For example, the informationof the second BNG usually includes a MAC address, an ID, and otherinformation of the BNG.

In this embodiment, an Internet access packet of the user is a standardIPOE/PPPOE Internet access packet that carries the user information ofthe user and the information of the BNGs that report the Internet accesspacket. The user information includes the MAC (Media Access Control)address, VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) information, a session ID(SESSION ID), and the like. The Internet access packet of the user isbroadcast through an L2 switching network to all BNGs connected to theL2 switching network (different users may be connected to different L2switching networks and therefore Internet access packets of differentusers may be reported by different BNGs). That is, all the BNGsconnected to the L2 switching network report Internet access packets ofall users connected to the L2 switching network to the user managementdevice.

S420: The user management device records, according to the userinformation, the information of the first BNG and the information of thesecond BNG in a BNG list to which the user belongs. The BNG list towhich the user belongs is maintained in the user management device andrecords information of BNGs by using which the user can access theInternet. These BNGs are the BNGs that report Internet access packets ofthe user.

S430: The user management device selects, according to a preset policy,the first BNG from the BNG list. The preset policy may specify that, theuser management device monitors load of every BNG and selects a BNG withrelatively less load from the BNG list, where a BNG that has least loadis selected with top priority, or monitors a delay of every BNG andselects a BNG with a relatively shorter delay, where the BNG with ashortest delay is selected with top priority.

S440: The user management device delivers the user's forwardinginformation to the first BNG, so that the user accesses the Internet byusing the first BNG. The forwarding information includes a list of BNGsthat report the user's Internet access packets, which includes theinformation of the first BNG and the information of the second BNG. Theuser management device further sends a response packet to the user byusing the first BNG, where the response packet is used to instruct theuser to access the Internet by using the first BNG. Based on MAC addresslearning (MAC address learning is defined in IEEE802.1), the L2switching network connected to the first BNG is notified that the user'sdata flow can access the Internet by using the BNG.

Further, to ensure network security, before the user management devicerecords, according to the user information, the information of the firstBNG and the information of the second BNG in the BNG list to which theuser belongs, the user management device further includes: checkingwhether the user is an authorized user, and performing a subsequentoperation if the user is an authorized user, or discarding the Internetaccess packet of the user if the user is not an authorized user.

In the method in the embodiment, an independent user management deviceexchanges user information and forwarding information with a BNG tospecify a BNG by using which a user can access the Internet and tomanage BNG user Internet access in a unified manner, so as toconveniently increase the number of BNGs connected to the usermanagement device and ensure that a user capacity can be flexiblyexpanded without affecting experience of an online user.

Further, after the user management device is notified (reported by a BNGor obtained based on BNG monitoring by the user management device) thata link of the first BNG breaks down, the user management device deliversforwarding information of all offline users on the link to the secondBNG whose link does not break down, so that the users access theInternet through the link that does not break down. Different users areconnected to different BNGs. That is, different users have different BNGlists. The user management device can deliver forwarding information ofan offline user only to a BNG whose link does not break down in theoffline user's BNG list. Therefore, the user management device forwardsthe offline user's forwarding information to the second BNG in the BNGlist in which the first BNG is recorded. For an L2 switching network,because a link breaks down, the user management device immediatelydeletes a corresponding MAC address table and re-implements MAC addresslearning to direct a user data flow to another link.

Further, after the user management device is notified that the first BNGbreaks down, the user management device delivers user information andforwarding information of all offline users connected to the first BNGthat has broken down to the second BNG whose link does not break down,so that the offline users access the Internet by using the second BNG.Different users are connected to different BNGs. That is, differentusers have different BNG lists. The user management device delivers theuser information and forwarding information of an offline user only to aBNG whose link does not break down in the offline user's BNG list.Therefore, the user management device delivers forwarding information ofthe offline user to the second BNG in the BNG list where the first BNGis recorded. For the L2 switching network, because a link of a BNGbreaks down, the user management device immediately deletes thecorresponding MAC address table and re-implements MAC address learningto direct the user data flow to another BNG.

In the foregoing process in which the user information and forwardinginformation of all offline users are delivered to another link or BNGthat does not break down, the user management device can consider loadof links that are not down and selects a link and BNG that has less loador a shorter delay with top priority.

Because the user management device is independent of a BNG and recordsinformation of a BNG by using which each user can access the Internet,after a link or BNG breaks down, the user management device canreallocate a user corresponding to the link or BNG to a link or BNG thatdoes not break down, so as to ensure reliable Internet access.

In a second embodiment of the application, a user Internet access methodis provided. Refer to a networking architecture in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 showsa specific process of the foregoing method, where the method includesthe following steps.

S510: A broadband network gateway device BNG receives an Internet accesspacket uploaded by a user and reports the Internet access packet to auser management device. The Internet access packet of the user is astandard IPOE/PPPOE Internet access packet that carries user informationof the user and information of the BNG. The user's Internet accesspacket is broadcast to all BNGs through an L2 switching network. Thatis, each BNG can receive Internet access packets of all users connectedto an L2 switching network to which the BNG is also connected. Afterreceiving the Internet access packets, the BNGs report the Internetaccess packets to the user management device.

S520: The BNG receives and saves the user's forwarding informationdelivered by the user management device (during initial Internet accessor Internet reconnection by the user). The forwarding informationincludes the user's BNG information reported. The BNG updates its usertable and forwarding table and notifies the user that the user canaccess the Internet by using the BNG. That is, the BNG forwards to theuser a response packet that is sent by the user management device andcorresponds to the Internet access packet, so that the user accesses theInternet by using the BNG.

In the method in this embodiment, a BNG completes exchange of userinformation and forwarding information with an independent usermanagement device and receives user information and forwardinginformation delivered by the user management device to enable the userto access the Internet by using the BNG and manage BNG user Internetaccess in a unified manner, so as to conveniently increase the number ofBNGs connected to the user management device and ensure that a usercapacity can be flexibly expanded without affecting experience of anonline user.

In a third embodiment of the application, a user management device isprovided, as shown in FIG. 6. The device includes the following modules.

An Internet access packet receiving module 610 is configured to receivea user's first Internet access packet reported by a first broadbandnetwork gateway device BNG, where the first Internet access packetcarries user information of the user and information of the first BNG,with the information of the first BNG usually including, for example, aMAC address, an ID, and other information of the first BNG, and receivethe user's second Internet access packet reported by a second broadbandnetwork gateway device BNG, where the second Internet access packetcarries the user information of the user and information of the secondBNG, with the information of the second BNG usually including, forexample, a MAC address, an ID, and other information of the second BNG.In this embodiment, an Internet access packet of the user is a standardIPOE/PPPOE Internet access packet that carries user information of theuser and information of the BNGs that report the Internet access packet.The user information includes a MAC (Media Access Control) address, VLAN(Virtual Local Area Network) information, a session ID (SESSION ID), andthe like. Internet access packets of users connected to an L2 switchingnetwork are broadcast to all BNGs connected to that L2 switching network(different users may be connected to different L2 switching networks andtherefore Internet access packets of different users may be reported bydifferent BNGs). That is, all BNGs connected to the L2 switching networkreport Internet access packets of all users connected to the L2switching network to the user management device.

An Internet access information recording module 620 is configured torecord, according to the user information, the information of the firstBNG and the information of the second BNG in a BNG list to which theuser belongs. The Internet access information recording module 620maintains the BNG list to which the user belongs and records informationof BNGs by using which each user can access the Internet. These BNGs arethe BNGs that report Internet access packets of users.

A BNG selection module 630 is configured to select, according to apreset policy, the first BNG from a BNG list. The preset policy mayspecify that, the user management device monitors load of every BNG andselects a BNG with relatively less load from the BNG list, where a BNGwith least load is selected with top priority, or monitors a delay ofevery BNG and selects a BNG with a shorter delay, where a BNG with ashortest delay is selected with top priority.

An Internet access information delivery module 640 is configured todeliver the user's forwarding information to the first BNG to enable theuser to access the Internet by using the first BNG. The forwardinginformation includes a list of BNGs that report the user's Internetaccess packets, which includes the information of the first BNG and theinformation of the second BNG. A response packet is sent to the user byusing a selected BNG. Based on MAC address learning, an L2 switchingnetwork connected to the selected BNG is notified that a user data flowcan access the Internet by using the BNG.

Further, to ensure network security, the user management device furtherincludes: a user validation module, configured to, before the usermanagement device records, according to the user information, theinformation of the first BNG and the information of the second BNG inthe BNG list to which the user belongs, check whether the user is anauthorized user and perform a subsequent operation if the user is anauthorized user or discard the Internet access packet of the user if theuser is not an authorized user.

In this embodiment, the user management device exchanges userinformation and forwarding information with a BNG to specify a BNG byusing which a user can access the Internet and to manage BNG userInternet access in a unified manner, so as to conveniently increase thenumber of BNGs connected to the user management device and ensure thatthe user capacity can be flexibly expanded without affecting theexperience of an online user.

Further, the user management device further includes: areconnection-upon-offline module, configured to, after a link of thefirst BNG breaks down, deliver forwarding information of all offlineusers on the link to the second BNG whose link does not break down, sothat the offline users access the Internet by using the link of thesecond BNG.

The reconnection-upon-offline module is further used, after the firstBNG breaks down, to deliver forwarding information of all offline usersconnected to the first BNG to the second BNG whose link does not breakdown, so that the offline users access the Internet by using the secondBNG whose link does not break down.

Different users are connected to different BNGs. That is, differentusers have different BNG lists. The user management device delivers theuser information and forwarding information of an offline user only to aBNG whose link does not break down in the offline user's BNG list.Therefore, the user management device forwards the offline user'sforwarding information to the second BNG in the BNG list where the firstBNG is recorded.

For an L2 switching network, because a link or a BNG breaks down, theuser management device immediately deletes a corresponding MAC addresstable and re-implements MAC address learning to direct the user dataflow to another link.

In the foregoing process in which user information and forwardinginformation of all offline users are delivered to another link or BNGthat does not break down, the user management device can consider loadof the links that are not down and selects a link and BNG with less loador a shorter delay with top priority.

Because the user management device is independent of a BNG and recordsinformation of a BNG by using which each user can access the Internet,after a link or BNG breaks down, the user management device canreallocate a user corresponding to the link or BNG to a link or BNG thatdoes not break down, so as to ensure reliable Internet access.

In a fourth embodiment of the application, a broadband network gatewaydevice BNG is provided, as shown in FIG. 7, and includes the following.

An Internet access packet reporting module 710 is configured to receivean Internet access packet uploaded by a user and report the Internetaccess packet to a user management device. The Internet access packet ofthe user is a standard IPOE/PPPOE Internet access packet that carriesuser information of the user and information of the BNG. The user'sInternet access packet is broadcast to all BNGs through an L2 switchingnetwork. That is, each BNG can receive Internet access packets of allusers connected to an L2 switching network to which the BNG is alsoconnected. After receiving the Internet access packets, the BNGs reportthe Internet access packets to the user management device.

An Internet access information updating module 720 is configured toreceive and save a user's forwarding information delivered by the usermanagement device (during initial Internet access or Internetreconnection by the user). The forwarding information includes theuser's BNG information reported. The BNG updates its user table andforwarding table and notifies the user that the user can access theInternet by using the BNG. That is, the BNG forwards to the user aresponse packet that is sent by the user management device andcorresponds to the Internet access packet, so that the user accesses theInternet by using the BNG.

In this embodiment, a BNG completes exchange of user information andforwarding information with an independent user management device andreceives user information and forwarding information of a user deliveredby the user management device to enable the user to access the Internetby using the BNG and manage BNG user Internet access in a unifiedmanner, so as to conveniently increase the number of BNGs connected tothe user management device and ensure that a user capacity can beflexibly expanded without affecting experience of an online user.

In a fifth embodiment of the application, a user Internet access systemis provided, where the system includes: any one of the user managementdevices mentioned above and the foregoing broadband network gatewaydevice BNG. As shown in FIG. 2, a user management device 350 isconnected to multiple BNGs 330. The system further includes an L2switching network 320 and an AAA server 340.

A user's Internet access packet is broadcast through the L2 switchingnetwork to all BNGs 330, which forward the Internet access packet to theuser management device 350.

The user management device 350 interacts with the AAA server 340. Afterthe user is authenticated, the user management device 350 recordsinformation about the user, such as a MAC/VLAN/SESSIONID and otherinformation of the user, assigns an ID and IP address to the user, andso on. The user management device 350 identifies, based on Internetaccess packets reported by the BNGs 330, the BNGs 330 by using which auser 310 can access the Internet.

Based on a selection policy, the user management device 350 selects aBNG 330 for Internet access, such as a BNG 330 with less load.

The user management device 350 delivers forwarding tables, including auser table (carrying user information) and a forwarding table (carryingforwarding information), to the selected BNG 330 and sends a responsepacket to the user 310 by using the BNG 330. Based on MAC addresslearning, the L2 switching network 320 connected to the selected BNG 330is notified that a user data flow can access the Internet 360 by usingthe BNG 330.

After the user management device 350 learns that a link of the selectedBNG 330 breaks down, the user management device immediately reallocatesall users 310 on the link, based on the selection policy, to other linksor BNGs 330 by delivering corresponding user tables and forwardingtables to the BNGs 330. For the L2 switching network 320, because thelink breaks down, the user management device immediately deletes acorresponding MAC address table and re-implements MAC address learningto direct the user data flow to another link or BNG 330.

After the user management device 350 learns that the selected BNG 330breaks down, the user management device immediately reallocates allusers from the BNG 330, based on the selection policy, to other BNGs 330by delivering corresponding user tables and forwarding tables the usersto the other BNGs 330. For the L2 switching network 320, because thelink between the selected BNG 330 and the L2 switching network 320breaks down, the user management device immediately deletes thecorresponding MAC address table and re-implements MAC address learningto direct the user data flow to another BNG 330.

In another embodiment of the application, the user management device inthe foregoing embodiment can be a user management device shown in FIG. 8which includes at least one processor 810 (such as a CPU), at least onenetwork interface 820 or another communications interface, a storage830, and at least one communications bus 840 that achieves connectionand communication between these apparatuses. The processor 810 is usedto execute an executable module, such as a computer program, in thestorage 830. The storage 830 may include a high-speed random accessmemory (Random Access Memory, RAM), or may also include a non-volatilememory (non-volatile memory), for example, at least one disk storage.Through the at least one network interface 820 (wired or wireless), asystem gateway communicates with at least one another network element onthe Internet, a wide area network, a local area network, a metropolitanarea network, and the like.

In some implementation manners, the storage 830 stores a program whichcan be executed by the processor 810. This program includes thefollowing.

The user management device receives a user's Internet access packetreported by each BNG; the user management device records userinformation and forwarding information of the user according to theInternet access packet, where the forwarding information includes a listof BNGs that report the user's Internet access packets; the usermanagement device selects a BNG from the list of BNGs that report theuser's Internet access packets; the user management device delivers theuser information and forwarding information to the selected BNG, so thatthe user can access the Internet by using the BNG.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand that all theaspects or possible implementation manners of the aspects of theapplication may be implemented as a system, method, or computer programproduct. Accordingly, all the aspects or possible implementation mannersof the aspects of the application may be an entirely hardwareembodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware,resident software, and the like) or a combination of software andhardware in the form of an embodiment, all of which are generallyreferred to herein as “circuit”, “module” or “system”. Furthermore, allthe aspects or possible implementation manners of the aspects of theapplication can be used in the form of a computer program product, whichis computer readable program code that is carried in a computer-readablemedium.

A computer-readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or acomputer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage mediummay be, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus or device,or any suitable combination of these, such as a random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM or flash), optical fiber, or portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM).

A processor of a computer reads the computer-readable program codestored in a computer-readable medium to enable the processor to performfunctional actions specified in every step or a combination of steps ina flowchart, or to create apparatuses that perform the functionalactions specified in every block or a combination of blocks in a blockdiagram.

Computer-readable program code can be executed completely on a user'scomputer, partially on a user's computer, as an independent softwarepackage, partially on a user's computer and partially on a remotecomputer, or completely on a remote computer or server. It must be notedthat in some substitute embodiments, the functions described in thesteps in a flowchart or blocks in a block diagram may not be implementedin an order specified in the flowchart or block diagram. For example,two continuous steps or blocks may be executed almost at the same timeor in a reverse order depending on the function involved.

Apparently, those skilled in the art may change or vary the applicationwithout departing from the true intention of the application. Thus, ifthese changes and variations of the application are within the claims ofthe invention and scope of technical equivalents, the application isalso intended to include these changes and variations.

While this invention has been described with reference to illustrativeembodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in alimiting sense. Various modifications and combinations of theillustrative embodiments, as well as other embodiments of the invention,will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to thedescription. It is therefore intended that the appended claims encompassany such modifications or embodiments.

1. A device, comprising: a processor; and a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by theprocessor, wherein when the program is executed the program causes thedevice to: receive a plurality of Internet access packets of a user froma plurality of broadband network gateway devices (BNGs), wherein eachInternet access packet of the plurality of Internet access packetscarries user information of the user and information of a correspondingBNG of the plurality of BNGs that reports the respective Internet accesspacket to the device; recording, according to the user informationcarried in the plurality of Internet access packets, the information ofeach corresponding BNG of the plurality of BNGs in a BNG list to whichthe user belongs; selecting, according to a preset policy, a first BNGfrom the BNG list for the user; and delivering forwarding information ofthe user to the first BNG.
 2. The device according to claim 1, whereinthe preset policy instructs to select a BNG of the plurality of BNGswith a smallest load, or to select a BNG of the plurality of BNGs with ashortest delay.
 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the deviceis further caused to validate that the user is an authorized user beforerecording the information of the corresponding BNGs of the plurality ofBNGs in the BNG list to which the user belongs.
 4. The device accordingto claim 1, wherein the device is further caused to: select, after alink of the first BNG breaks down, a second BNG of the plurality of BNGsfrom the BNG list, wherein the link that breaks down does not correspondto the second BNG; and deliver the forwarding information of the user tothe second BNG.
 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the deviceis further caused to: send a response packet to the user, wherein theresponse packet instructs the user to access the Internet by using thefirst BNG.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the device isfurther caused to: select, after the first BNG breaks down, a secondBNG, wherein the second BNG is operational; and deliver the forwardinginformation of the user to the second BNG.
 7. A broadband networkgateway device (BNG), comprising: a processor; a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium storing a program to be executed by theprocessor, wherein when the program is executed the program causes thedevice to: receive an Internet access packet from a user, wherein theInternet access packet is sent to each BNG of a plurality of BNGs whichare connected to the user by a switching network, and the BNG is one ofthe plurality of BNGs; and report the Internet access packet to a usermanagement device, wherein the reported Internet access packet carriesuser information of the user and information of the BNG; and receive andsave forwarding information of the user delivered by the user managementdevice after the user management device selects the BNG from a BNG listaccording to a preset policy.
 8. A system, comprising: a user managementdevice; and a plurality of broadband network gateway devices (BNGs)connected to a user by a switching network; wherein each BNG of theplurality of BNGs is configured to: receive an Internet access packetreported by the user; and report the Internet access packet to the usermanagement device, wherein the reported Internet access packet carriesuser information of the user and information of the reporting BNG; andwherein the user management device is configured to: record, accordingto the user information in each reported Internet access packet, theinformation of the plurality of BNGs in a BNG list to which the userbelongs; select, according to a preset policy, a first BNG from the BNGlist; and deliver forwarding information of the user to the first BNG.9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the preset policy instructsto select a BNG with a smallest load, or to select a BNG with a shortestdelay.
 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the user managementdevice is further configured to: validate that the user is an authorizeduser before recording the information of the plurality of BNGs in theBNG list to which the user belongs.
 11. The system according to claim 9,wherein the user management device is further configured to: select,after a link of the first BNG breaks down, a second BNG whose link doesnot break down from the BNG list; and deliver the forwarding informationof the user to the second BNG.
 12. A method implemented in a usermanagement device, comprising: receiving a plurality of Internet accesspackets of a user from a plurality of broadband network gateway devices(BNGs), and wherein each Internet access packet of the plurality ofInternet access packets carries user information of the user andinformation of a corresponding BNG of plurality of BNGs which reportsthe respective Internet access packet; recording, according to the userinformation carried in the plurality of Internet access packets, theinformation of each corresponding BNG of the plurality of BNGs in a BNGlist to which the user belongs; selecting, according to a preset policy,a first BNG from the BNG list for the user; and delivering forwardinginformation of the user to the first BNG.
 13. The method according toclaim 12, wherein the preset policy instructs to select a BNG of theplurality of BNGs with a smallest load, or to select a BNG of theplurality of BNGs with a shortest delay.
 14. The method according toclaim 12, further comprising: validating that the user is an authorizeduser before recording the information of the corresponding BNGs of theplurality of BNGs in the BNG list to which the user belongs.
 15. Themethod according to claim 12, further comprising: selecting, after alink of the first BNG breaks down, a second BNG whose link does notbreak down from the BNG list; and delivering the forwarding informationof the user to the second BNG.
 16. The method according to claim 12,further comprising: selecting, after the first BNG breaks down, a secondBNG, wherein the second BNG is operational; and delivering theforwarding information of the user to the second BNG.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 12, further comprising: sending a response packet tothe user, wherein the response packet instructs the user to access theInternet by using the first BNG.